Epic Bangkok to Singapore
21 days from Maenam Chao Phraya to Singapore Strait
From $ 1807
Duration21 days
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A 21-day tour from the bustling streets of Bangkok to the jungle of Khao Sok. This 21-day epic takes you from the bustling streets of Bangkok to the hectic jungle of Khao Sok and ends in ultra-modern Singapore. Sleep on a raft, kick back at Krabi and eat your way through Penang and Singapore. If this trip was a dish it would taste like Singapore’s chilli crab. Hot enough to keep you on your toes with a whopping great serve of salty ocean on the side.

This tour is operated by

  • Duration: 21 days
    Service level: Basic
  • Starts in: Maenam Chao Phraya
    Physical Grading: Light
  • Ends in: Singapore Strait
    Ages: 18+
Epic Bangkok to Singapore - Tour Map

Itinerary

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Day 1: Bangkok

Start place: Maenam Chao Phraya

Welcome to Bangkok, Thailand. Once you’ve hit Khao San Road, you’re officially on holiday. There’s a welcome meeting at around 6 pm tonight. Please look for a note in the hotel lobby or ask the hotel reception where it will take place. If you're going to be late, please inform the hotel reception. We'll be collecting your insurance details and next of kin information at this meeting, so please ensure you have all these details to provide to your leader. If you can't arrange a flight that will arrive in time, you may wish to arrive a day early so you're able to attend. We'll be happy to book additional accommodation for you (subject to availability). If you arrive early perhaps take a riverboat to Chinatown and explore the crowded streets, or head to the magnificent Grand Palace. Our pick for cocktails is Bed Supper Club or Vertigo. Ask your guide for directions or grab your new travel mates and attempt to navigate the Skytrain.
Day 2: Sukhothai
Take a six-hour local bus to Sukhothai, AKA the ‘dawn of happiness’. That sounds like a pretty swell place to spend a day, right? Pick yourself up a pushy, and head out on a guided cycle tour of Sukhothai’s Historical Park and World Heritage-listed ancient city. Roll your bike around the temples and other archaeological relics within the area. Apparently riding a bike helps build new brain cells in the hippocampus – the bit of your brain responsible for memory. This is great, cos now you won’t forget all the gorgeous temples you cycle past today.
Meals: B
Day 3: Chiang Mai
Rise and shine for a five-hour private minivan drive to hillside Chiang Mai. Stop in at the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital in Lampang to meet some big-footed friends being nursed back to good health. Arrive in Chiang Mai in the late afternoon. With over 120 temples in the city centre alone, you can easily while away a few hours doing a temple run. On the other hand, if you’re all templed out, perhaps hit up the Night Bazaar and get haggling.
Day 4: Chiang Mai
Today you're free as a bird, maybe get flying on the Flight of the Gibbon and negotiate the zipline and canopy course within the treetops. Or take an optional excursion to the temple at the top of Doi Suthep, which offers fantastic views over the city. Perhaps spoil yourself with a traditional Thai massage or try your hand at a local cooking class. It's totally up to you.
Day 5: Doi Mae Salong
Doi Mae Salong is a seriously good-looking tea plantation way up in the hills of the Golden Triangle. Not only are the views incredible, you’ll also get to meet some seriously lovely hill-tribe villagers as you wander. Today travel by public bus and minivan to Doi Mae Salong via Mae Chan (approximately five hours in total). It's the perfect place to relax and kick back for the day. Make sure you enjoy a cup of tea in a traditional Chinese teahouse overlooking the mountains. Check out the interesting market, which is full of produce and crafts made by hill tribe people. For something a little more adventurous, why not climb up the 719 steps to see the town’s Buddhist temple?
Day 6: Chiang Rai
While the Golden Triangle may have gained a little unwanted notoriety in the 1920s for its opium trade, today it remains a lush, mountainous, traditional intersection of Northern Thailand, Laos and Burma. In the morning take a three-hour ride in a minivan to this famous border. Pay a visit to the House of Opium Museum for a deeper insight into this area's problematic past. Continue your travels for around two hours to Chiang Rai, where you’ll stay the night. Perhaps head to Chiang Rai's night market, which is a great place to pick up some hill tribe handicrafts. 
Day 7: Chiang Mai/Overnight sleeper train
Like your temples creepy and kooky and quirky and weird? Good thing we’re stopping in at the White Temple this morning. Although it can be crowded with tourists, this temple is a modern wonder. In the afternoon, take a three-and-a-half-hour public bus back to Chiang Mai and board an overnight train for Bangkok (approximately 13 hours). Soft sleeper class trains are used for the overnight journey. The compartments are multi-share with air-conditioning and bunk beds that come with sheets and a pillow. Baggage travels in the carriage with you, and there's a food and drink service available on-board.
Meals: B
Day 8: Bangkok
Your train is scheduled to arrive into Bangkok early this morning. Transfer back to the hotel where the trip started. As there are no more activities planned for today, Enjoy a free day in Bangkok. Check out the areas you missed the first time around, and a chance to eat some more delicious Bangkok street food!
The composition of your group might change today. Meet your new leader and group at the meeting at approx. 6 pm tonight.
Day 9: Bangkok – Overnight Train
Explore some of Bangkok's oldest neighborhoods on a walking tour with your leader. Visit the local Talad Noi Market, Chinese Temple and find hidden street art installations. Pass by Wat Pho and perhaps stop in to see who can spot the most images of Buddha. Rumour has it there are up to 1000. Then you'll cruise along the Chao Praya, and the afternoon is free for you to explore the sites of Bangkok as you please. Visiting the Grand Palace is recommended. Tonight, board your overnight train to Surat Thani (approximately 13 hours).
Meals: B
Day 10: Khao Sok National Park
Arrive in Surat Thani early in the morning, then transfer by bus to Khao Sok National Park. It's an amazing environment, so colourful and vivid it almost looks like it's been CGI'd. These dense rainforests are abuzz with exotic animals and plants, and some walking trails lead to awesome waterfalls alongside the huge Cheow Lan Lake. Cruise along it and see the limestone cliffs set against the jungle backdrop. Stay in a simple raft house, which is literally ON the lake. Wait till you see the view when you wake up.
Meals: B, L, D
Day 11: Ao Nang
This morning you will take a longtail boat back to the pier (approx 50 mins) and then travel by minibus to Ao Nang, Krabi (approx 2.5 hours) Home to sweet white-sand beaches and limestone karsts jutting out of cerulean waters Krabi is a picture perfect paradise. The main street of this lively beachside town has heaps of bars and restaurants to grab a beer or meal at.
Meals: B, L
Day 12: Ao Nang
That's the trouble with paradise – there's too many ways to enjoy it. Today's a free day, so that means time to kayak or climb the karst rock formations that surround this place. If you take an optional kayaking activity you can head to Ao Thalane and paddle through mangrove forests, coves and narrow karst-walled canyons, keeping an eye out for kingfishers, herons and crab-eating macaque monkeys.
Day 13: Ao Nang
Today is yours. You are free as a bird. An island-hopping day trip is a great way to get a real sense of just how amazing this part of Thailand is. You can take a longtail boat out to stunning islands like Phi Phi, where the swimming is great and the views are even better. Like exotic, far-out film locations. You'll never tire of looking up at those karsts towering above the turquoise. The real adventure-types might opt to go rock-climbing. Either way you approach it, paradise is paradise.
Day 14: Penang
Today is a long travel day by minivan. Sit back, relax and Thailand disappear in the rearview mirror. Next stop: Malaysia! Cross the border Wang Prajan (the Thai checkpoint) and Wang Kelian (the Malaysian checkpoint). Penang is Malaysia's prized island. You may have heard that people from Penang are serious about their food, and it is delicious, but there is so much more to this place, such as a gorgeous coastline and a colonial heritage which thrives amid the skyscrapers over Georgetown. The Georgetown area is a cool (and World Heritage-listed) blend of religious sites of worship.
Day 15: Penang
Today your leader will take you on a guided orientation walk through the Georgetown area to check out the shophouses, Penang Museum, street art and clan jetties. When you have become old friends with this place, the rest of the day is yours. Check out Kek Lok Sii (the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia), Khoo Kongsi (amazingly ornate and one of the oldest clan houses in Malaysia), Cheong Fat Tze Museum (fascinating if you have an interest in Feng Shui). Then, perhaps go looking for delicious food. This place is famous for its cuisine, thanks to many cultures that have lived side-by-side here for ages. Be sure to try a refreshing ice kacang (a dessert made with crushed ice, syrup and a mixture of jellies, nuts and sweet beans), or a hearty nasi kandar (steamed rice accompanied by curries, fried chicken, seafood or vegetables). Or take to the unspoilt trails of Malaysia's smallest National Park at Teluk Bahang. What'll really help? Choosing to join an optional food experience at the local night market. Penang prides its self on its food, and local life centres around eating, so when in Rome (or Penang)!
Today’s challenge: see if you can find the hawker stall on Kimberley St where Lean Joo Sean has been selling char kway teow (stir-fried rice noodles) since 1954. You can’t miss his white chef’s hat and the queue of hungry punters.
Day 16: Kuala Lumpur
You will have a free morning before setting off for Malaysia’s capital today. A short taxi ride will take you to the ferry terminal and then you will take the ferry to Butterworth (20 minutes), and then take the train to Kuala Lumpur (approximately 4 hours). The train will have you arrive into Kuala Lumpur in the evening. If you’re still awake, head out to a bar with a view and take in the city’s lights over a cocktail.
Day 17: Kuala Lumpur
Tried a durian yet? They stink, but they taste pretty good. Make sure you get a map and venture out on some walking adventures. You can hit Bukit Bintang, the Golden Triangle (for shopping), or Menara Tower (entry fee applies). If you're up for a day trip, the shrine-filled limestone caves of Batu Caves are an awesome sight and accessible by train from Kuala Lumpur.
Day 18: Kuala Lumpur
Today is another free day to explore KL. Get up early to get your tickets to see two of the world's very tallest buildings, the Petronas Towers. Ask your leader how the system works! The evening is best spent at the night market sampling the different cuisines on offer and bargain-hunting among the stalls of the famous Petaling Street. 
Day 19: Melaka
An intriguing blend of Malay, Indian, Chinese and Portuguese cultures, Melaka has a wealth of interesting architecture, distinctive food and proud cultural heritage. Take a public bus there (approximately 3 hours in total) and enjoy a free afternoon. Once the most important trading port of Malaysia, Melaka attracted Chinese, Indian, Dutch, Portuguese and British traders, and this diversity is reflected in its overall vibe. Check out Harmony Street where these communities have their places of worship, with a church, mosque, and a couple of different temples all on the one street. Peace out!
Day 20: Singapore
A public bus journey (approximately 5 hours) takes you to Singapore. Your leader will take you on a walk to give you an introduction to this ever-evolving city. There will be time to take in the retail hot spots and the 'booming cross-cultural culinary scene' before enjoying a final evening with your fellow travellers. It'll be a time to reflect. Who ate the most chilli? Who at the most durians? Who even ate one durian? When can we all pack up and move to Asia forever? Etcetera.
Day 21: Singapore
Farewell your newfound friends as your trip comes to an end today.

End place: Singapore Strait

Inclusions

Included

  • Sukhothai - Historical Park bike tour
  • Lampang - Friends of the Asian Elephant
  • Chiang Rai - Wat Rong Kun (White Temple)
  • Bangkok - walking tour
  • Khao Sok - Cheow Lan Lake boat trip

  • Transport

    Boat, Overnight sleeper train, Private minibus, Public bus, Songthaew, Taxi

  • Accommodation

    Guesthouse (4 nights), Hotel (13 nights), Overnight sleeper train (2 nights), Raft House (1 night)

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